Siege of Fukuhara (1351)

The Siege of Fukuhara took place in autumn of 1351 when the Ashikaga clan's general Ashikaga Yoshiakira led an army of 825 troops into Settsu Province and besieged the Ikeda clan's stronghold of Fukuhara. The Ikeda daimyo Ikeda Noriyori and his son Ikeda Hiroyuki were both killed during the onslaught, and the Ashikaga took over Settsu.

Background
In 1351, Shogun Ashikaga Takauji formed a military alliance with the Ikeda clan of Settsu Province to counteract the Southern Court in southern central Honshu, despite the Ikeda clan not being loyal to Takauji's faction of Japanese feudal politics. Ikeda Noriyori was angered when Takauji declared war on his Yamana allies in Tamba Province, and Noriyori foolishly decided to side with the Yamana in the war with the Ashikaga clan. The Yamana clan was defeated early in 1351, and Takauji dispatched his son Ashikaga Yoshiakira to lead 825 troops to attack the Ikeda and conquer Settsu Province from them. Yoshiakira's army to the north of Kyoto joined forces with some reinforcements from the city before moving into Settsu and invading the Ikeda clan's territory.

Siege
Yoshiakira led his army to besiege the provincial capital of Fukuhara, defended by 720 troops under Noriyori and his son Ikeda Hiroyuki. Fukuhara was poorly-defended, with the capital being little more an another town with a garrison of Ikeda troops. The battle opened when the Ashikaga infantry charged both flanks of the Ikeda army, and the forces joined in bloody melee. Yoshiakira rallied his men and charged the archers of the enemy, and the cavalry chased down and massacred fleeing Ikeda troops. The Ashikaga forces proceeded to attack the father and son as their horsemen made a final stand, and the Ashikaga destroyed their Ikeda opponents. The battle was a victory for the Ashikaga clan, and they took over Settsu province from the destroyed Ikeda clan.